{"title":"Monteverdi String Band","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Monteverdi String Band takes its inspiration from the sound, style and repertoire of the early violin consort, using seventeenth-century equipment to create a unique sound, ‘quite unlike any that of any other ensemble I know that plays this music’ (Planet Hugill).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMuch of the band’s programming draws on the elaborate cultural milieu of early seventeenth-century Italy: the literary origins of the madrigal, the life of Galileo, and the private entertainments of the Venetian nobility have all inspired performances. They have collaborated with several opera productions at the Brighton Early Music Festival; the 2017 production of \u003cem\u003eL’Orfeo\u003c\/em\u003e, co-directed by MSB’s Oliver Webber, was praised for its ‘immediacy and vitality that I found breath-taking’ (\u003cem\u003eThe Argus\u003c\/em\u003e), and 2023 saw further collaborations with the Taverner Consort (Monteverdi’s \u003cem\u003eVespers\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eHerrenchiemsee\u003c\/em\u003e) and The City Musick (’The Count and the Duke’, York Early Music Festival).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Monteverdi String Band in focus series offers smaller projects featuring individual ensemble members: in \u003cem\u003eCon Arte e Maestria\u003c\/em\u003e, Oliver Webber and Steven Devine explore virtuosic traditions of ornamentation. Released on Resonus Classics in 2021, it was described by Gramophone as ‘an intensely perfumed performance: beguiling then joyful, simple then suave’. They follow this with A Thousand Flexible Ways, for voice (Hannah Ely), violin and lute, in which the violin, following the advice of authors through the ages to ‘imitate the human voice’, takes on the role of a second soprano in this exploration of dialogue and ornamentation in the age of meraviglia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFuture projects include \u003cem\u003eAll Kinds of Rare Inventions\u003c\/em\u003e, an instrumental programme inspired by the thriving musical and literary landscape of Dresden in the seventeenth century, and a revival of their staging of Monteverdi’s \u003cem\u003eIl Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"con-arte-e-maestria-virtuoso-violin-ornamentation-from-the-italian-baroque-webber-devine-res10282","title":"Con arte e maestria: Virtuoso violin ornamentation from the Italian Baroque","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/music.apple.com\/us\/album\/con-arte-e-maestria-virtuoso-violin-ornamentation-from\/1568597961\" title=\"Listen on Apple Music - Con arte e maestria: Virtuoso violin ornamentation from the Italian Baroque\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0622\/7977\/8534\/files\/US-UK_Apple_Music_Listen_on_Badge_RGB_072720_160x160.jpg?v=1642109982\" alt=\"Listen on Apple Music\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e    \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/7kkAeon6EJj2SVF1zyaCb8\" title=\"Listen on Spotify - Con arte e maestria: Virtuoso violin ornamentation from the Italian Baroque\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"Listen on Spotify\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0622\/7977\/8534\/files\/Spotify_Logo_RGB_Green_160x160.png?v=1642110409\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOliver Webber (violin)\u003cbr\u003eSteven Devine (harpsichord \u0026amp; organ)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe decades around 1600 bore witness to the flourishing of a remarkable musical tradition: the art of diminution, in which simple melodies were given exquisitely virtuosic embellishments, effectively creating new works. One such creation, Francesco Rognoni’s ornamentation of Palestrina’s Io son ferito, was captioned ‘con arte e maestria’ – with art and mastery – referring to the consummate craftsmanship displayed in its invention and performance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGiving new life to this tradition was the inspiration for this unique programme: alongside iconic works from the diminution canon, Monteverdi String Band members Oliver Webber and Steven Devine present newly ornamented versions of a selection of sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century works.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0622\/7977\/8534\/files\/RES10282_booklet.pdf?v=1645257044\" title=\"Album Booklet - Con arte e maestria: Virtuoso violin ornamentation from the Italian Baroque\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAlbum Booklet (PDF)\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAbout the Artists: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.resonusclassics.com\/collections\/oliver-webber-violin?_pos=1\u0026amp;_psq=Oliver+Webber\u0026amp;_ss=e\u0026amp;_v=1.0\" title=\"Oliver Webber - violin - Resonus Classics\"\u003eOliver Webber;\u003c\/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.resonusclassics.com\/collections\/steven-devine-harpsichord?_pos=1\u0026amp;_psq=Steven+Devine\u0026amp;_ss=e\u0026amp;_v=1.0\" title=\"Steven Devine - harpsichord \u0026amp; organ - Resonus Classics\"\u003eSteven Devine\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"resonusclassics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42461662609638,"sku":"RES10282","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0622\/7977\/8534\/products\/RES10282_Con_arte_maestria_Webber_Devine.jpg?v=1651225389"},{"product_id":"the-madrigal-reimagined","title":"The Madrigal Reimagined","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHannah Ely (soprano)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eToby Carr (renaissance lute \u0026amp; theorbo)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMonteverdi String Band\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTheresa Caudle (violin)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWendi Kelly (contralto viola)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Brooker (tenor viola)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark Caudle (bass violin)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOliver Webber (violin, tenor viola \u0026amp; director)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sixteenth-century madrigal, a deceptively simple, whimsical poetic form of no fixed structure, had an elusive quality that was to prove inspirational to generations of musicians; madrigal settings came to form the core of many composers’ outputs and quickly evolved a musical identity independent of their poetic origins.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘The Madrigal Reimagined’ opens a window on how musicians exploited the madrigal’s charm, poignancy and flexibility, with settings ranging from intimate solos to grand operatic scenes; virtuoso diminutions, old and new, share the stage with touching, subtle dissonance in music by Rore, Bovicelli, Caccini, Monteverdi and others.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Monteverdi String Band is joined by soprano Hannah Ely and lutenist Toby Carr under the direction of violinist Oliver Webber.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0622\/7977\/8534\/files\/RES10341_booklet.pdf?v=1718828223\" title=\"Album Booklet - The Madrigal Reimagined - Hannah Ely (soprano), Toby Carr (theorbo \u0026amp; lute), Monteverdi String Band, Oliver Webber (violin \u0026amp; conductor)\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAlbum Booklet (PDF)\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAbout the Artists: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.resonusclassics.com\/collections\/hannah-ely-soprano\" title=\"Hannah Ely - soprano - Resonus Classics\"\u003eHannah Ely;\u003c\/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.resonusclassics.com\/collections\/toby-carr\" title=\"Toby Carr - lute \u0026amp; theorbo - Resonus Classics\"\u003eToby Carr;\u003c\/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.resonusclassics.com\/collections\/monteverdi-string-band\" title=\"Monteverdi String Band - Resonus Classics\"\u003eMonteverdi String Band;\u003c\/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.resonusclassics.com\/collections\/oliver-webber-violin\" title=\"Oliver Webber - violin and director - Resonus Classics\"\u003eOliver Webber\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"resonusclassics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45101781221606,"sku":"RES10341","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0622\/7977\/8534\/files\/RES10341_The_Madrigal_Reimagined_Monteverdi_String_Band.jpg?v=1718828857"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0622\/7977\/8534\/collections\/Monteverdi_String_Band.jpg?v=1794339826","url":"https:\/\/www.resonusclassics.com\/collections\/monteverdi-string-band.oembed","provider":"Resonus Classics \u0026 Inventa Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}